Sixteen Years of Dhyanalinga

I t has been almost sixteen years since we consecrated Dhyanalinga. Sixteen is an important number in the yogic system. When Adiyogi transmitted his knowing, he explored and expounded one hundred and twelve ways in which a human being can attain to his ultimate nature. But when he saw the time it would take for his seven disciples to grasp these one hundred and twelve ways, he divided them into seven parts of sixteen each.

When the seven disciples had grasped these sixteen ways, Adiyogi said, “Now it is time to go and share this with the rest of the world.” They were completely overwhelmed because they could not think of a life without him. When they were just about to leave, he said, “But what about Guru Dakshina?” In the tradition, the disciple must make an offering before he leaves. It is not that the guru needs the dakshina – he wants his disciples to leave with a sense of offering something precious, because in a state of offering, a human being is at his best. These seven people were bewildered – what to offer him? Except for the loincloth they wore, they had nothing.

Then Agastya Muni said, “I carry sixteen gems within me, the most precious kind. These sixteen gems that I received from you, I offer to you,” and he placed these sixteen ways at his feet and became empty-handed. The other six took the cue and offered back the sixteen ways they had gathered from Adiyogi and also stood empty-handed. You must understand this – their life’s aspiration was to gather this knowledge, they spent eighty-four years of heart-breaking sadhana to earn this – and in one moment, they put it back at his feet and stood empty. They left with nothing in their hands.

This was the greatest aspect of Adiyogi’s teaching. Because they went empty, they became like him. Shi-va means “that which is not.” And they became “that which is not.” Otherwise, they would have carried these sixteen ways like a crown, marketing it to the rest of the world. Because they became empty, all one hundred and twelve ways found expression through all seven of them. Things they could have never grasped and did not have the capacity for became a part of them simply because they offered back the most precious aspect of their life.

So, sixteen is an important number for us, and there are certain things we will be doing with Dhyanalinga to make him more available during the next sixteen-year phase. Very few people have really consumed it, but it is a tremendous storehouse of knowledge; nowhere else has it been done like this. The form of it is very, very unique. It is time people become more sensitive to him. I am not saying this with any disregard, but people come like tourists and sit for fifteen minutes, and at the end they ask, “No Prasadam?!” Or, “When is fifteen minutes going to be over?” Other people go through fifteen minutes like a moment. If you come like a tourist, so what? But if you leave the world like a tourist, that is a pathetic state. Before you leave this world, that which made this world happen should be yours – at least a little bit. If it is not yours, all you are left with is a lump of earth (body) – which they will anyway take back.

If something is ignited within you, if something more than the warmth of your body is on, then in the coming year we will offer possibilities to tweak up the way Dhyanalinga functions for you – whether you are living in the ashram, or just here for a short period of time. It is my only endeavor that you should experience something more than your physicality. This will not happen by you seeking experiences, but by preparing yourself to become receptive. Your Sadhana is your lifeline. I am with you.